Ohio State's title hopes dashed

Michigan State's upset lifts Auburn into BCS title hunt

Associated Press

Associated Press

Updated 12:43 am, Sunday, December 8, 2013

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 07: Ed Davis #43 of the Michigan State Spartans brings down Braxton Miller #5 of the Ohio State Buckeyes during the Big 10 Conference Championship Game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 7, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 187469194

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 07: Ed Davis #43 of the Michigan State...

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 07: Jeremy Langford #33 of the Michigan State Spartans out runs Corey Brown #3 of the Ohio State Buckeyes to score the game winning touchdown of the Big Ten Conference Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 7, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 187469194

The No. 10 Spartans regained the lead on Connor Cook's 9-yard touchdown pass to Josiah Price with 11:41 left and upset No. 2 Ohio State 34-24 to take the Big Ten title and put Auburn back in the national title hunt.

No. 3 Auburn defeated Missouri 59-42 in the SEC championship game and likely will play No. 1 Florida State in the BCS title game Jan. 6 in Pasadena, Calif.

Ohio State (12-1) had the nation's longest active winning streak end at 24 as coach Urban Meyer suffered his first loss since taking over in Columbus.

It was a game that almost defied logic.

The Spartans (12-1) led 17-0 after 21 minutes, then gave up the next 24 points before scoring the final 17.

Michigan State sealed the victory, and its probable trip to the Rose Bowl, with Jeremy Langford's late 26-yard TD run. The Spartans haven't played in Pasadena since 1988.

For the Spartans, it was a monumental win.

They have won 12 games in a season for the first time, won their ninth straight for the first time since starting 9-0 in 1966 and are likely headed to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1988 — though coach Mark Dantonio said earlier this week he thought Michigan State could have a claim on the BCS game with a win. The only thing that could keep the Spartans out was a 17-13 loss at Notre Dame on Sept. 21.

One week after the Buckeyes cheered when Auburn upset No. 1 Alabama, the Tigers were rooting for Michigan State to return the favor.

Did they ever.

Auburn 59, Missouri 42: Missouri proved it's SEC worthy in only its second year in the league. The Tigers just weren't ready for Auburn's up-tempo running game, and that was a devastating realization with the Southeastern Conference championship on the line. James Franklin passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns and No. 5 Missouri kept pace with No. 3 Auburn through three quarters before falling in a wild SEC title game on Saturday. The quarterback also ran for a touchdown but Missouri couldn't match the relentless Auburn offense led by Tre Mason's 304 yards rushing and four touchdowns.

Florida State 45, Duke 7: Jameis Winston threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score, and No. 1 Florida State stormed into the BCS national championship game with a victory over 20th-ranked Duke on in the ACC championship game. The Heisman Trophy favorite was 19 of 32 for 330 yards and set FBS freshman records for TD passes and yards passing in a season.

Oklahoma 33, Oklahoma State 24:Blake Bell threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Saunders with 19 seconds remaining to help No. 18 Oklahoma spoil rival Oklahoma State's Big 12 championship and BCS bowl game hopes. Eric Striker ended the game by recovering a fumble for a touchdown for Oklahoma. Desmond Roland led No. 6 Oklahoma State with 144 yards rushing and accounted for three touchdowns.

Stanford 38, Arizona State 14: Tyler Gaffney ran for 133 yards and scored three touchdowns in a dominating first half, leading No. 7 Stanford back to the Rose Bowl with a victory over No. 11 Arizona State in the Pac-12 title game. Gaffney scored on a 69-yard run on the Cardinal's second play and a pair of 1-yard runs. Stanford consistently gouged Arizona State for big plays, racking up 517 yards to earn a shot at repeating as Rose Bowl champion.

Baylor 30, Texas 10: Bryce Petty threw touchdown passes on the first two drives of the second half for No. 9 Baylor and the Bears won their first Big 12 title and a Fiesta Bowl berth with a victory over No. 23 Texas. The Bears have their first 11-win season and their first outright title in any league since the 1980 Southwest Conference title. Petty threw for 287 yards, with TDs to Antwan Goodley and Levi Norwood after a 3-3 halftime tie. Malcolm Brown ran for 131 yards for Texas.

UCF 17, SMU 13: Blake Bortles threw for 242 yards and ran for two touchdowns, and No. 15 UCF celebrated a BCS bid already in hand by adding the outright American Athletic Conference title to the mix. Neal Burcham had 222 yards passing for SMU and a 30-yard touchdown to Keenan Holman, who led all receivers with 91 yards. It was 24 degrees at kickoff.